At the late Annual Meeting of the Shakespeare Society it was announced
that a complete collection of the works of Thomas Heywood had been
determined upon, and the first volume containing six plays was laid upon
the table. It was also shown that Mr. Collier's _Essay on the Chandos
Portrait_ had only been delayed from a desire to obtain the most novel
and accurate information.
The members of the Percy Society will be glad to hear, that at the
Annual Meeting on the 1st instant, the immediate publication of the
third volume of Mr. Wright's edition of the _Canterbury Tales_ was
announced.
The plan for the _restoration of Chaucer's tomb_ in Poet's Corner has at
length assumed a practical shape. It has been ascertained that less than
100l. will do every thing that can be desired to repair the ravages of
time, and preserve the monument for centuries to come. It is proposed to
raise this sum by subscriptions of five shillings, that more may share
in the good work; and a committee has been formed to carry out this
scheme, which has already received the sanction of the Earl of Carlisle,
the Earl of Ellesmere, Lord Braybrooke, Mr. Charles Wynn, and other
distinguished lovers of literature. Subscriptions are received by every
member of the committee, and parties resident in the country may remit
them by post-office orders payable at Charing Cross in favour of William
Richard Drake, Esq., F.S.A., of 46. Parliament Street, the Honorary
Treasurer; or of William J. Thoms, Esq., the Honorary Secretary of the
Committee.
The Annual Meeting of the Camden Society on the 2d instant, under the
Presidentship of Lord Braybrooke, gave general satisfaction. The council
reported the publication during the past year of the _Peterborough
Chronicle_; the _Letters of Elizabeth and James VI._; and the _Chronicle
of Queen Jane_. This last volume was then only on the eve of
circulation; it has since been issued, and found to justify the
announcement of the council that it is work of great historical value,
and an interesting companion to _Machyn's Diary_.
We have received the following Catalogues:--James Darling's (21. Little
Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields) Catalogue of Books Old and New,
Theological and Miscellaneous, and Andrew Clark's (4. City Road)
Catalogue, No. 8., of Books in English and Foreign Theology, Literature,
Roman Catholic Controversy, Classics, &c.
* * * * *